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The Ministry of Justice is seeking a Community Payback Supervisor to lead and supervise offender work groups on community sentences. The role may involve driving service vehicles to move people or equipment and requires motivating teams to complete tasks to high standards.
Applicants should be prepared for weekend work with a higher rate on weekend days, and for ongoing assessment against Civil Service criteria. Initial salary is £28,064 with progression through the pay framework.
The Community Payback supervisor role is accommodated to people on probation who work or have caring responsibilities. Community Payback projects run 7 days a week therefore you will: work frequent weekends, and you may be asked to cover some evenings. You will be paid a higher rate of 50% for weekend days you do work. In this role, the pace of our work means that rest breaks don't always happen in the standard way. When this happens, we make sure your wellbeing is looked after. Your wellbeing really matters to us, so we want to be open about this from the outset. If you're someone who enjoys a varied, active role where no two days are the same, this is a great environment to make a real difference while being fully supported. The Probation Service offers the opportunity for annual pay progression through a Competency Based Framework (CBF), which if eligible, will see your pay increase. CBF is designed to enable you to move up through the pay band range as your competence grows. New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. Probation Service also increase their pay band ranges annually in line with Civil Service Pay guidance, which will also apply an increase to band pay ranges where applicable.
Overview of the job This is an operational role directly supervising work groups of offenders serving a community sentence. This may include driving service vehicles to transport people or equipment. The post holder will be responsible for all work site supervision tasks and will work with service users to ensure that all tasks are carried out to the best of their ability. This will include working alongside people to demonstrate good practice as necessary. For further information on the summary, responsibilities, activities, duties of the role and the Civil Service Success Profile Criteria which will be used in the assessment process, please refer to the full Job Description Attachment. Right to work in the UK You must have the right to work in the UK and Civil Service https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules. Skilled Worker visa changes from 22 July 2025 In accordance with current immigration rules, this role is not eligible for a new Skilled Worker visa. From 22 July 2025, the Government introduced changes to the eligibility criteria for Skilled Worker visas. As a result: HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot consider sponsoring you to work as a community payback supervisor unless you have held a Skilled Worker visa prior to the 22 July 2025 changes. If you have held a Skilled Worker visa continuously, please raise this during your pre-employment checks and your eligibility will be assessed in accordance with the immigration rules and transitional provisions in place. If you apply to be a community payback supervisor and you have not held a Skilled Worker visa prior to 22 July 2025, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK in light of these changes. If your application is successful, you will need to ensure that you have and maintain the legal right to live and work in the Civil Service and in the United Kingdom. HMPPS will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here. Civil Service recruitment: nationality rules Civil Service This guide is intended to assist departments with managing their responsibilities on nationality rules related to Civil Service recruitment. You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa, Your application will be sifted once the application deadline has closed. You will then receive further instruction on the progress and outcome of your application. Take a look at a short video about Community Payback Supervisor here: https://vimeo.com/663030374?fl=pl&fe=sh
We anticipate that the assessment day will run from 09:00-16:00. The day will be split into two sections with a break in the middle. The day will include an interview and a visit to site to enable you to get a sense of the role with onsite experience and for you to get the benefit of meeting some of the team to ask questions. Please dress accordingly for the weather and bring any refreshments you may need. There will be tea/coffee/water facilities available. Details of the exact day including start time and what to bring will be shared with you once you have completed your application and passed the initial online stage. During the day you will be asked to complete a face-to-face interview where we will test behaviours and strengths. Your natural strengths are assessed to find out what motivates and energises you. We will also assess your spoken English abilities. You will be advised whether you have been successful or not on the same day. If you are offered and accept a role we will then commence the vetting process. This can take upwards of 12 weeks. The Community Payback Supervisor role is a physical one. Staff are expected to work on varied projects that involve practical tasks that should be seen by the public to be a credible punishment providing reparation to the community. The post holder will exercise appropriate authority to maintain discipline and good behaviour within working groups, alerting the relevant staff to any infringement of discipline or behaviour. The work may involve working alongside volunteers or staff from partner organisations. A permanent manual drivers licence is required for this role. Community Payback Supervisors will be expected to work weekends as part of their normal working pattern. You will be paid a higher rate for weekend days you do work.
A career in community payback gives you the power to make a positive impact on the lives of People on Probation as well as your community. People come from all walks of life to form one team in the Probation Service. It's all about supporting People on Probation on their journey and making your community a better place. Whether that's building benches or cleaning the streets, you're there because you genuinely want to help. If this sounds like you, (removing phrase) Your starting salary will be £28,064.
On a typical day, you'll spend up to 7 hours supervising a group at a Community Payback unpaid work placement. Post holders may be required to undertake weekend working as part of their normal pattern of working.
Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order:
As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. You will be able to request reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process within the application form. If you need additional help completing the application form, please contact the TBS Recruitment Enquiries Team. For more information on applying for a role as a candidate with a disability or long‑term condition, please watch our animated videos.
Diversity & Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
A Great Place to Work for Veterans The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
Redeployment Interview Scheme Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ is committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are "at risk of redundancy".
We will assess your experience for this role via the following methods: Experience Questions; Application Form Question Word Limit 250; Specific licence requirements. Candidates must have a full UK Manual Driving Licence to be eligible to apply for this role. We cannot accept applications from candidates who only hold an automatic driving licence.
Evidence of Experience Experience Questions Interview stage assessments Interview Dates To be confirmed Behaviours Communicating and Influencing Leadership Working Together Strengths Strengths will be assessed but these are not shared in advance. To learn more about Strengths and how they are assessed please click here. Level of security checks required DBS Enhanced.